Su Xiaosi returned to find everyone still awake, which struck him as odd.
His family was accustomed to early nights and early mornings due to their business commitments during the day.
It was quite late now, and by all accounts, everyone should have been asleep. Why were they still up?
And it seemed everyone was present.
Even Xiao Cao and Third Brother were there.
After greeting his elders, Su Xiaosi noticed the blueprints laid out on the table.
"What's this?"
Su Xiaosi picked them up out of curiosity, but couldn't make heads or tails of them.
It was true that not everyone who could make money could understand blueprints.
"Fourth Brother, I've recently taken a liking to an old, disused factory. I plan to buy it and build on it," Su Xiaotian said concisely.
Her words struck a chord with Su Xiaosi.
Build on it?
He had been researching this himself lately, and it was indeed a very lucrative venture.
But did the family have that much money?
Su Xiaosi knew their family's situation well; their foundation was too thin.
Simply put, their ancestors hadn't left much in the way of assets, so buying land was out of the question.
Otherwise, if they had bought large tracts of land with a substantial investment, they would surely have reaped immense profits in the future.
However, if it was just an old, disused factory, they might be able to afford it!
"Building on an old factory? That's a great idea!"
As expected, Su Xiaosi's interest was immediately piqued, and he eagerly picked up the blueprints to examine them closely.
He felt that when it came to making money, his younger sister was the only one in the family with whom he shared common ground.
This girl, Xiaotian, always had brilliant ideas.
Unlike the others in the family, who lacked ambition.
Even while staying in the capital, they lacked the boldness to make significant money.
When Su Xiaoba heard Su Xiaosi's comment, he shrugged at the rest of the family.
His meaning was crystal clear.
See? I knew my Fourth Brother would be interested.
Su Xiaosi paid no mind to anyone else, leaning close to Su Xiaotian and chattering animatedly.
He had initially assumed Su Xiaotian intended to build houses for rent or sale. However, after listening to her explanation, he realized she planned to use it for their own business.
That seemed like a good idea too.
Yiming Pavilion had been around for several years without significant development, and it was increasingly failing to keep pace with the changing times. A breakthrough was necessary.
Otherwise, he worried they might be phased out by the market in a few years.
"I think the first and second floors can be used to expand Yiming Pavilion's scale, the third floor can be a Western restaurant, the fourth floor a department store area, and the fifth and sixth floors can be leased out for investment, depending on whether we convert them into a mall or something else later," Su Xiaosi offered his own suggestions.
Upon hearing that Su Xiaosi planned to put a Western restaurant above their own restaurant, Grandma Su immediately objected.
"Why are you planning to open a restaurant to compete with your own family's business?"
Grandma Su glared at Su Xiaosi, as if she could cut him down with her gaze if he dared to say another word.
"Grandma, young people nowadays are fond of Western food. It's all our family's business, what's there to compete about?"
Su Xiaosi, driven by the prospect of making money, even dared to speak up to Grandma Su, bracing himself.
"Exactly, Grandma, I think Fourth Brother's idea is sound," Su Xiaoliu suddenly chimed in.
He admitted he wasn't as good at making money as Fourth Brother or Xiaotian. However, he genuinely felt that Fourth Brother's plan was excellent.
It was all family property; what competition was there to speak of?
Grandma's thinking was flawed!
With another grandson supporting the idea, Grandma Su didn't know what to say.
"Old woman, let the children figure it out themselves. We're old now!" Grandpa Su tugged at Grandma Su's sleeve.
They were old and could no longer keep up with the times; from now on, they would have to rely on the children.
Grandpa Su had felt this way for several years.
They were aging, and this era belonged to the youth.
Hearing Grandpa Su's words, Grandma Su could only swallow her unsaid remarks.
The old man had a point; they were indeed old.
Looking at this rapidly developing era, their thinking had truly fallen behind.
"Xiaotian, I think building only five or six floors is too low, still not enough. How about we build seven or eight floors? Or even ten floors if necessary."
Hearing Su Xiaosi's words, Grandpa and Grandma Su completely lost their footing.
How could one person be bolder than another?
Xiaotian had only suggested building five or six floors, and now Xiaosi had doubled it?
Grandpa Su, who had just felt that the present was the era of youth, suddenly felt something was amiss. If they truly handed over the reins of the family to the young people, wouldn't it be ruined in no time?
Su Xiaotian was speechless.
"Fourth Brother, have you considered how people will get up a ten-story building?"
Ten floors? It would be exhausting just to climb them. Su Xiaotian didn't believe anyone would want to climb that high to shop.
Five floors were her expectation; six floors were already exceeding it.
Fourth Brother's idea was good, and he certainly had the nerve.
But, for the present, it wasn't very realistic!
One must eat step by step and walk step by step, proceeding with steady progress.
Their Su family lacked a deep foundation and couldn't afford to take risks.
Otherwise, it might truly be as Grandma said, a case of going back to square one.
"Don't we have elevators? We can find a way to install one, and then all the problems will be solved," Su Xiaosi said enthusiastically.
He had been very interested in these things lately.
"Fourth Brother, one elevator would be enough to bankrupt our family!"
Su Xiaotian had to remind her fourth brother, whose mind had been clouded by grand future visions.
Her words indeed cooled Su Xiaosi's heated thoughts.
The price of an elevator was indeed enough to make their Su family go bankrupt.
Fine, let's be more realistic!
Alas, they still weren't making enough money.
"But if we build such a low building now, will we have to demolish and rebuild it in a few years?"
Su Xiaosi felt it would be a great waste.
He estimated that within ten years at most, there would be significant development, and by then, the buildings they were constructing now would surely be abandoned by the times.
Su Xiaotian shook her head and said, "No need. We'll adopt an antique style and reserve space for an elevator. Later, when we have the money, we can install elevators, and there won't be a need to demolish and rebuild."
In the old district, it wasn't feasible to build excessively tall buildings. It was better to develop steadily and get it right the first time.
By reserving space for future needs, only modifications would be required later, eliminating the need for demolition and rebuilding.
The siblings had now completely forgotten everyone else, focusing intently on researching future development.
With each contributing their thoughts, they managed to refine even the initially less-than-perfect aspects.
However, their ideas made the two elders of the Su family and the couple of Su Laosan's hearts tremble.
They simply couldn't bear to listen any longer.
Good heavens, these two children were aiming for the sky!
Forget it, it was better to go back to their rooms and sleep; it would be beneficial for their health.
Su Xiaoba rubbed his head, feeling that something was not quite right.